1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information recording method and apparatus for recording a compressed object (content) and the like on an information recording medium.
The present invention also relates to an information reproduction method and apparatus for reproducing an information recording medium on which a compressed object and the like are recorded.
The present invention also relates to an information recording medium on which a compressed object and the like are recorded.
The present invention also related to an electronic distribution system for distributing a compressed object and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The DVD forum issued a standard capable of recording/reproducing video information on/from an information recording medium.
Video information has a unit called a “recording unit” or “title corresponding to program unit” which divides large video contents. In the above standard, a management unit called “video object” is used for the “recording unit”, and a management unit called “program” is used for the “program unit or title”.
The DVD forum is currently examining an audio recording standard, i.e., a standard capable of recording/reproducing audio information highly compatible with the above video recording standard.
In the video recording standard, video data is compressed by MPEG2 and recorded, and audio data is recorded by linear PCM without any compression, or compressed by MPEG audio or AC-3 and recorded. In addition to the above audio compression schemes, various kinds of audio compression schemes exist, including AAC, MP3, ATRAC3, WMA, DTS, Twin-VQ, and Q Design. When a plurality of compression schemes are selected as the audio recording standards, an audio recording compatible recorder only need to have an encoder of at least one of the compression schemes. However, a compatible player must have decoders of all compression schemes to keep the compatibility. In addition, in supporting a new compression scheme to be developed in the future, the compatibility cannot be ensured.